Cavan, 19th August, 2025:Today, Skillnet Innovation Exchange is pleased to announce a significant milestone with the signing of a contract worth €800,000 between Nuálach Automation based in Cavan, and The Nestbox Egg Company in county Monaghan.
The Nestbox Egg company, which handles approximately five million eggs every week, was seeking to improve efficiencies to build, label, and pack cartons on its production line. Nuálach Automation pitched, and ultimately delivered, a customised solution, the Eggsact Robot Packer, which integrates seamlessly into the Nestbox infrastructure, reducing manual workload while increasing scalability.
Commenting on the achievement, Minister Niamh Smyth, said: “Today’s announcement is a powerful example of what can be achieved when innovative Irish SMEs are connected directly with larger companies through initiatives like Skillnet Innovation Exchange. Government supported initiatives like this play a vital role in driving productivity, supporting regional development, and strengthening Ireland’s position as a global leader in enterprise and innovation. I would like to commend The Nestbox Egg Company and Nuálach Automation for using this proven initiative to innovate and build competitiveness for their businesses.”
Skillnet Innovation Exchange connects large businesses facing innovation challenges with talented solution providers that fast-track innovation. To date the initiative facilitated the delivery of more than 70 innovation challenges experienced by larger corporates, to its SME member base. Corporate members of the Skillnet Innovation Exchange, which now number over 50, include some of Ireland’s leading companies, like InterSport Elverys, Horse Sport Ireland, Ryanair, Glanbia and many more.
Mark Jordan, Chief Executive, Skillnet Ireland, said: “This success highlights the real-world impact of the Skillnet Innovation Exchange in empowering SMEs to win high-value contracts while helping larger businesses solve strategic challenges. Supporting digital transformation is a key focus for Skillnet Ireland, through national initiatives like Skillnet Innovation Exchange and our 70 Skillnet Business Networks. Through collaborative partnerships, we are not only advancing digital transformation but also strengthening Ireland’s competitiveness across multiple sectors.”
The Skillnet Innovation Exchange model works by giving SME organisations the opportunity to respond to the challenge presented by the larger corporate company, with those successful in their initial submission selected to meet with the prospective buyer to pitch their solution. Since launching in February 2022, over 120 SMEs have had the opportunity to pitch directly to a corporate buyer. The programme offers SMEs not only a qualified sales pipeline but a valuable opportunity to engage with prospective customers on industry requirements – providing a clear benefit to solutions providers developing new products for market.
Conor Carmody, Director of Skillnet Innovation Exchange, said: “We are delighted that so many businesses are realising the benefits of Skillnet Innovation Exchange and one of these benefits is the sizeable deal announced today. The success of the programme is in large part down to the active engagement of our members – both our large corporate members, which include Ireland’s most ambitious and progressive companies, and our SME members which include some of Ireland’s most talented and innovative minds.
Evan Roarke, Co-founder of Nuálach Automation, said: “The challenge presented through Skillnet Innovation Exchange provided us with the opportunity to pitch for this exclusive contract in an efficient and seamless manner. We are proud to partner with The Nest Box Egg Company to deliver the Eggsact Robot Packer — a high-speed, high-volume precision robotic solution for egg packaging. By significantly reducing reliance on manual labour, the Eggsact Robot Packer will not only enhance operational efficiency and packaging precision but also support greater scalability and sustainability across their supply chain.”
Eoin McEvoy, CFO, The Nestbox Egg Company, added: “Through Skillnet Innovation Exchange, we have found a partner right here in our region. This automation investment will significantly boost our production capacity while supporting our long-term growth. Skillnet Innovation Exchange gave us access to a pool of talented solution providers and, through its structured process, helped us quickly identify and shortlist five strong contenders. The process is extremely comprehensive and effective, it gave each provider the opportunity to pitch directly to us, allowing for real engagement and helping us build the foundations for a long-term partnership.”
Skillnet Innovation Exchange is now welcoming new members. Whether you’re a scaling SME or a corporate seeking solutions, visit www.theinnovationexchange.ie to learn more.
ENDS
For media queries contact:
Valerie Kennedy
Skillnet Innovation Exchange
Guinness Enterprise Centre,
Taylor’s Lane,
The Liberties,
Dublin D08 YPP9
Email: valerie@theinnovationexchange.ie
Tel: 087 6777071
About Skillnet Innovation Exchange
Skillnet Innovation Exchange is an Irish innovation platform that brings together large corporations undergoing digital transformation with scaling SMEs that offer innovative solutions. Launched in 2022 in partnership with Furthr, the programme bridges the gap between the demand for new technologies and the supply of agile, homegrown tech capabilities. Corporates, present real-world transformation challenges. In turn, scaling Irish SMEs—referred to as “solution providers”—pitch solutions, fostering practical and impactful collaborations. The programme operates nationally, supported by regional hubs such as Republic of Work in Cork, The Mill in Drogheda, GreenTechHQ in Wexford, Platform94 in Galway, RDI in Kerry and the Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen. This ensures SMEs from across Ireland have the chance to engage with corporates and scale their businesses. Since its launch, in excess of 70 innovation challenges have been issued, resulting in successful commercial partnerships.
By facilitating direct engagement between corporate leaders and tech innovators, The Innovation Exchange drives mutual value: corporates access new digital capabilities quickly, while SMEs gain critical exposure, market insight, and commercial traction. It’s a win-win initiative supporting the evolution of Ireland’s digital economy and fostering a collaborative innovation ecosystem.
About Nuálach Automation
Nuálach Automation is one of Ireland’s fastest growing independent full-service suppliers in the controls, robotics and special purpose automated precision machine building markets. Operating from our modern facility in Virginia, Nuálach Automation is a trusted automation partner for leading global manufacturers across the Food & Beverage, MedTech, Pharma, Automotive, & General Industries. With strong Irish roots and international reach Nuálach Automation specialise in delivering cutting-edge automation solutions that empower our customers to achieve greater efficiency, precision, and scalable growth. As a trusted partner in innovation, we seamlessly integrate advanced technology, expert engineering, and a deep understanding of our customers unique challenges. By streamlining operations, reducing costs, and boosting productivity, we help our customers achieve transformative results and stay ahead.
About The Nestbox Egg Company
The Nestbox Egg Company is a second-generation, family-owned business with over 60 years of expertise in egg packing and processing. Supported by a fantastic team of 80 employees, the company packs, processes and distributes approximately five million eggs each week. With a strong focus on quality and innovation, the company supplies eggs under private label and branded ranges—including its flagship brand, Golden Irish—to leading Irish retailers, the baking industry, the foodservice sector, and export markets including UK and the Middle East. It is the Republic of Ireland’s sole supplier of free-range, colony, barn and organic eggs in pasteurised and shell formats. Committed to long-term sustainability, the company takes pride in working with over 40 Irish family-run farms supplying Free Range, Organic, Barn and Colony eggs. The Nestbox Egg Company is licenced by The Dept of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and certified by Bord Bia, BRC, and Organic Trust.
About Skillnet Ireland
Skillnet Ireland is the national talent development agency of the Government of Ireland, responsible for advancing the competitiveness, productivity, and innovation of Irish businesses through enterprise-led talent development. Skillnet Ireland partners with 57 industry bodies, supporting over 24,000 businesses and more than 90,000 trainees annually, through its 70 Skillnet Business Networks and five National Initiatives – Skillnet Climate Ready Academy, Skillnet Innovation Exchange, Skillnet MMC Accelerate, Skillnet Offshore Wind Academy and MentorsWork – across most sectors and all regions in Ireland.
Skillnet Ireland is funded from the National Training Fund through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
To learn more about Skillnet Ireland visit www.skillnetireland.ie
Skillnet Business Network search tool: https://www.skillnetireland.ie/our-networks/
Facebook: @SkillnetIreland
Twitter: @SkillnetIreland
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/skillnetireland
